Author, Christian, Math Teacher, Coloradan

Menu

Interviewed on TV

This week, I was the Off-the-Shelf Author at our local Farmer’s Market. These author events are Thursday 6pm to 7pm at Crystal Books and Gifts.

This was a fun event. I talked with many people and gave out too many bookmarks. One man bought all three of my books.

As a promotion for the local author book signing, I had the privilege of being interviewed on KREX. That was Wednesday morning at 6:45am. See, my name is on the screen. So official!

I was nervous enough that I did not tell my friends beforehand. I have received several reprimands for this oversight.

“We could have watched you live!” they say.

I think, Exactly. That’s why I didn’t tell you. (My introvert side took over my extrovert tendencies in this case.)

The questions were expected and basic (phew), but I did have a couple things I wanted to make sure I said.

1, I wanted to thank Jesus for being my Lord and Savior. I knew I was going to forget if I didn’t say it first thing. So, I did. This part made me the most nervous because I didn’t know if it would fit into the interview. Thankfully, it didn’t seem too weird.

2, I wanted to explain that the trilogy was an epic fantasy retelling of the Lion King. I thought this would be easier than trying to talk about the plot without giving anything away. Even “magic, swords, secrets, shifting, friendship, and betrayal” is vague and generic. What makes my books stand out? That they’re an uncommon retelling, and that there are blade shifters.

3, I wanted to mention that the books are clean for all appropriate ages. I consider them excellent for 10 years and older, to infinity and beyond!

On Wednesday, four people came to me at work and mentioned the TV interview. This doesn’t fit with my view of “don’t be nervous; nobody will watch it anyway.” I know that at least four people saw it when it aired. Gulp.

At the author signing on Thursday, I wore my black cape and no shoes. I stood on the sidewalk next to my bookstand and greeted people who walked past the bookstore. Sometimes I held Royal Deception, sometimes Runaway Deception, and sometimes I just had bookmarks in my hands (or a water bottle).

I generated very little interest by saying, “Do you like to read fantasy?” I couldn’t figure out why so few people were curious until one man asked, “Are you the owner?”

Of course! They thought I was promoting the entire bookstore!

I changed my greeting to, “I wrote a book. Do you like to read?” Now I had several people respond, “You wrote a book? Ooh, tell me about it.” Some people still quirked their eyebrows and shook their heads when they learned it was a fantasy book. At least they let me talk about it for a minute.

(I do love talking about my books; can you tell?)

All in all, a fun week in the world of indie authoring. There was less writing and more marketing, but I actually enjoyed it.

Lauren Klenda made me laugh, too (not just a giggle). So, I couldn’t have been too nervous.

Denae’s Latest Book:

Search for a book you like and find new books that share traits. Want more shapeshifting dragons? Want more doorways to other worlds? Want more wizard thieves? Want more glowing swords? I’ll link the books, and you do the searching. If you have...